Harvest Moon: The Farmer and The Blacksmith
by Holly Avery
Summary: Heya! Anyway, based on the game Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town. Rated T for what might happen later in the story.
1. A New Life on a New Farm

Note: This is my first story. It's based on Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town. I've changed Claire into my own character.

Disclaimer: Harvest Moon and it's characters (excluding Erin) belong to Natsume.

Chapter One: A New Life on a New Farm

A chocolate brown-eyed girl sporting shoulder-length semi-wavy auburn hair is standing on the edge of a messy field. Her attire is rather plain: a cream-and-green plaid blouse over a cream-colored t-shirt, blue jeans, dark brown pleather boots, and a small rucksack on her back. She raises a slender arm and brushes her side-swept bangs off of her freckled face. Her partner, a dog name Connor, is sitting at her side her, tongue lolling. A slight breeze plays with her hair as a short older man steps onto the property.

"Hello there. Are you a tourist?" The man approaches her, a curious look on his face. He looks like a ring master from a circus. Glasses and a brown mustache complement a red top hat, red-and-white suit, and yellow bowtie.

The girl turns, looking at the man in surprise. She shakes her head. "Actually, I called MT Realtor about an ad in the newspaper. They said something about a "refreshing" life on a farm in Mineral Town, so here I am," she states. Connor, obviously ignoring the two, spots a butterfly in the distance and races off.

The man nods in understanding. "MT Realtor sent you here, huh? So, you're the new farmer…" He begins to laugh uncontrollably. "You've been tricked!" He settles down, taking a few deep breathes. "It used to be a gorgeous farm, but the owner passed away a while ago and it fell into decline."

"What?!" The girl's shout echoes slightly around the vacant buildings. She blushes in embarrassment.

"I still can't believe you believed that cheesy advertisement!" The old man breaks out into a laughing fit once again. "No one wants to run this farm anymore, but you actually came!"

"Why you…" The girl pulls a hammer out from her rucksack, her face red with anger. She holds the hammer back and swings it at the man, hitting him in the foot.

"Ow ow ow! Please forgive me!" The man steps back, cowering a little.

The girl lowers her hammer, sighing. Her face turns back to its pale and freckled state. "Fine… You see, it's just that I quit my job and moved out of my apartment specifically to move onto this farm," she murmurs disappointedly.

The man frowns. "I see… That's too bad…" He pauses to think for a moment. "Hey! Maybe you can just try to run the farm! I mean, the house is still livable and the buildings are intact. With a little elbow grease, it could look as great as it used to!" The girl looks up at the man to see him grinning. She smiles, putting her hammer away.

"Yeah, I guess it wouldn't hurt. I'll try as hard as I can!" She grins back at him, putting her hands on her hips. Connor, who was bored chasing the butterfly, had returned and barked happily.

"As the mayor of this town, I will help you as much as I can!" He begins to leave, but pauses and looks back at the girl. "By the way, my name is Thomas."

The girl nods, tilting her head to the side. "My name's Erin, and this is my dog, Connor. See ya later!" Erin waves a little to the departing man. She turns to Connor, smiling. "We'll make this the best farm in the world, won't we?" Connor responds with another bark and begins to wag his tail. "Right! I bet we will," she giggles.


	2. Meeting The Townsfolk Part One

Note: Hey there! Thanks for the meager amount of reviews for the first chapter. I appreciate it! D

Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or its characters (excluding Erin). They belong to Natsume.

Chapter Two: Meeting the Townsfolk Part One

On the morning of Spring 2, Erin woke up with a start. She looked around herself, staring at the drab yet homey room. "Wait, where am I…?" she asked herself. She opened her mouth a little to exhale. "Oh… That's right, I moved here yesterday." Erin yawned loudly and stretched. This action made Connor, whom refused to sleep outside that night, grunt in his sleep before opening one hazel eye. Before he knew it, Erin was standing in front of a mirror, fully dressed and beaming like a madwoman. "Alright! Our first day on the farm, Connor!" she exclaimed proudly. Connor stood, much to his disdain, and stretched. Erin turned to Connor, giggled, and put her hands on her hips. "You ready, boy?" Her conversation with the sleepy dog was cut short when there was a knock at the door. "Coming!" Practically sprinting across the room, she reached the door and opened it quickly. "Good morning, sir…" She looked up at the "tower" of a man in front of her, clearly surprised.

The tall and extremely buff man grinned and laughed. "Good morning to you too, miss! My name's Zack, nice ta meet'cha." He held out a massive hand.

The corner of Erin's mouth twitched into a half-grin. She took Zack's hand and shook it once. "Nice to meet you... My name's Erin," she said in almost a squeal. She shook her head a little, taking her hand back, and smiled properly.

Zack laughed again. "I live down on the beach, by the dock. I ship the products from local business or the sea." He steps to the side and points with his thumb to a wooden box randomly in the yard. "That's you shipping bin. Just put stuff you want to sell in that thing, I'll pick it up around 5:00pm, and pay you what everything you put in is worth."

Erin nods curtly. "Right, sounds simple enough. I'll see you around 5 o'clock, then!" She waves at Zack as he leaves. Sighing, she half-turns in the doorway, looking at Connor. "That guy was a giant! Well, at least I don't have to carry all my products to the beach myself!" Connor barks happily. He wags his tail and yawns. "Well, let's go meet everyone else, Connor!" She marches out of the house and closes the door once Connor bounded after her. Together, the two headed up the cobblestone path towards town just as the sun peaked over a nearby river. The two came to a split street, one heading north and the other heading east. "Let's go this way first," Erin stated as she turned to the east. She stopped in front of a building to her left, reading the sign in front. "There's a blacksmith, huh? I hope they're nice." Erin spoke too soon. Upon her and Connor's entry, her gaze met with two others. One was from a short old man in a blue garb, the second from an orange-haired boy wearing a hat with "UMA" across the front and tan pants with a coat to match.

"Hello, may I help you?" the old man asks, coming out from behind the counter. The boy just turns, a peachy tint of pink barely brushing over his cheekbones. The old man glances at him and annoyance creeps over his expression.

Erin sniffs lightly at the boy's gesture and turns to the short man. She offers her hand, beaming. "No, actually I'm the new farmer here in Mineral Town. I was just introducing myself to the townsfolk. My name is Erin and this is my dog, Connor."

The older man seems to soften up, offering a small smile. He takes Erin's hand and shakes it a few times. "Well, it's about time someone moved onto that old farm! My name is Saibara and that is my grandson and apprentice, Gray." Saibara puts his hand behind his back and clasps it with the other, turning to face the space between Erin and Gray. He scowls at the orange-haired boy, whom was adding wood to the fire. "Please excuse him. He never has gotten along with other people very well. That characteristic will never make him a great blacksmith."

Erin covered her mouth with a palm, hiding a smile. Gray turns to his grandfather, returning the expression. "Don't get me started, grandpa!" He looks at Erin, takes a few strides towards her, and offers his hand. "Nice to meet you…"

"Uh…yes! Nice to meet you, Gray!" Erin fakes a grin and takes his hand, shaking it gently. She lets his hand go, scratching her head nervously. Slightly startled by Erin's reaction, Gray nods slightly and backs up a little.

Saibara turns to Erin, completely oblivious of Gray now, and raises an index finger suddenly. "Ah, yes! If you ever need your tools upgraded, bring them here. Don't forget to bring the ore you need for the upgrade. There's a mine halfway up Mother's Hill, near the Hot Spring."

Nodding, Erin closes her eyes, absorbing the information. She smiles once again. "Right! I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Saibara!" She turns to the door, Connor at her heels. Erin looks over her shoulder and waves a little, gripping the doorknob lightly. "It was nice meeting you two!" Connor barks in agreement. "See you later, Gray!" Before Gray could turn to look at her, she and the dog were out the door with a quiet click.

"Phew! I'm glad to be out of there. The old man seemed like he was glaring at me most of the time…" Erin hunches over a little, her arms hanging limply. Connor begins to bark, his tail raised like a flag. Erin looks up plainly to see a hen strut onto the path in front of her and begin to peck at the ground casually. "Hm… What are you doing here?" she questions the hen, standing up straight. A girl with a long, curly pink hair wearing a red-and-white dress with a black corset sprints out of a small dirt pasture, huffing.

"Don't run off, girl! Rick would have my head if you got lost!" the girl exclaims, quickly scooping up the white hen into her arms. She looks at Erin, then at Connor, and spazzes a little. "It's a d-dog!"

"Uh, he doesn't bite!" Erin stares at the pink-haired girl disbelievingly. _'Did she just scold a _chicken_?'_ She sighs lightly, offering the girl a smile. "He wouldn't harm a fly, I swear."

"If you s-say so…" The girl takes a deep breath and beams at Erin. "You're the new farmer, aren't you?!" She seemed so hyped up suddenly. This left Erin staring at her with an anime sweat drop sliding down the back of her head.

"Yeah… I'm the new farmer… My name's Erin and this _harmless_ pup is Connor." Erin still couldn't believe how hyper this girl was. It was like she had three cups of coffee all at one time this morning!

"Oh, that's great! My name's Popuri! My mom owns the Poultry Farm, which is right behind us. Why don't you come and meet my mom and brother?!" Popuri grabs Erin's wrist and drags her onto the property and over to the quaint little house just inside the area. Connor's ears perk and he sits beside a fence post, wondering if this girl's family was afraid of him as well.

"Oh, Popuri! Are the chickens alright…" A woman with hair similar to Popuri's spots Erin and sighs. "I'm very sorry. Popuri tends to get excited when she meets someone new. My name is Lillia and I'm the owner of this store." The woman, whose eyes seem to always be closed, offers a small smile to Erin before coughing lightly repeatedly.

"Mom, are you okay?" A blonde boy sporting glasses and a headband to match his green shirt, jeans, and blue apron walks down a short flight of stairs. The boy ignores the fact Popuri is carrying a chicken and dragging Erin across the floor.

"Yes, I'm fine. I can't say the same for Popuri's new friend." Lillia laughs lightly, stepping out from behind the counter. "Popuri, let her go, please."

Popuri looks at Erin and smiles sympathetically at her shocked expression. "Oops… I must have gotten carried away. I'm sorry!" She releases Erin's wrist.

"Oh, no, it's alright…" Erin smiles half-heartedly at Popuri and realizes the boy is staring at her. She spazzes a little and scratches her head. "Uh, hey! I'm Erin, and I'm the new farmer." She looks at Lillia and smiles. "It's nice to meet all of you."

"My name's Rick. I'm Popuri's brother." Rick laughs and rubs the back of his head. "If you ever need anything that has to do with chickens, feel free to stop by. We're closed on Sundays, though."

Erin lets her hand fall limply and smiles at Rick. "Alright, I'll be sure to stop by sometime!" She looks at Popuri, who's having trouble keeping the hen in her arms. "Uh, are you going to be okay?"

Popuri laughs loudly, covering up her embarrassment. "Yeah! I just forgot I brought her in, that's all!" Rick turns to scold Popuri, but she ignores him. "Good luck with the farm!"

"Thanks! I'll see you three around, then. I need to go meet everyone else, so I'll be heading out." Erin backs up to the door, grinning nervously and waving a little. In a split second, she's out the door and on the path beside Connor. "Oh wow… That Popuri girl is a handful! Ah, I'll get used to it. Well, off to the next place!" And off they went, Connor falling in step with Erin.

* * *

I think I'm going to have to make meeting everyone in Mineral Town three parts… o.o' I'll probably put Chapter Three up on the 6th because school work is a little demanding and I have to work Friday night. –Shrug- Keep up the reviews, please!


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